French Macarons

Not too long ago I discovered the truly amazing, delicious French pastries called Macarons. So, when I made the decision to move to France, one of my "must do's" was to learn to make authentic French macarons. And finally, six months into this adventure it happened! A friend of mine is a pastry chef, and she has a friend who gives classes so, she arranged a private class. Five of us spent two hours learning all of the tips and tricks to make the perfect macarons.

This was "the real deal" -  the class was taught in French, and of course the recipe was in French too! I was too busy having fun to take pictures, but thanks to our great teacher we had a delightful time and ended up with some beautiful and delicious macarons.

They look and taste as good as those from a fancy patisserie

 

The next weekend we decided to try out our new skills and make our own batch of macarons. There are a LOT of details to remember, but we managed to put together some pretty good macarons.



Placing the dough on the sheet for baking



Almost as good as the professionals


 

I am thrilled that I finally got to try my hand at making these delicacies, and look forward to perfecting my skills and developing some fun and interesting flavors.



 

Family Vacation - part 3

We had a whirlwind visit of Paris, but in the midst of all of the walking and sight-seeing we did manage to find time for some good food and drinks too!

The Louvre, with the Eiffel Tower in the background

Feeling strong and ready to conquer Paris

There she is, THE icon of Paris



On top of the Arc de Triomphe

Cheers to a great vacation

All smiles as we enjoy Paris

 

We packed a LOT into a few days, but sure had a lot of fun doing it all. It was a great family vacation, and maybe only the beginning of many more to come!

Family Vacation - part 2

When we started planning this vacation to Brittany/Normandy, I had one "must see" and that was Mont Saint Michelle. I was under the mistaken impression that it was a cathedral on an island - when in reality it is a city on an island, topped by a cathedral.

 

 The streets were narrow and wound around the mountain as they went up to the cathedral. It's amazing to think about the horses and carriages making their way through this city. We poked around a bit, checking out some interesting passageways and then headed out, as we had a long day ahead of us. Next on the agenda were the Landing Beaches and some of the villages which had significant roles in WWII. We went to the town of Bayeux which has a famous tapestry. However, after exploring this church we decided to skip the tapestry and head on to the beaches.



 

My brother is a history buff and so he had put together the itinerary for this part of the trip. I wasn't sure what to expect at the Landing Beaches, but found them to be beautiful, sobering, and informative.

I learned way more about history in just a few hours on these beaches then I ever did in any of my history classes. I guess I'm a hands-on learner!

Family Vacation - part 1

I think I was 16 the last time I went on a family vacation. Sure, I go visit my family because we all live in different states, but I stay at their home and enter into their daily lives. I'm talking about a "real" family vacation with parents and siblings, where you're all  traveling somewhere together and staying together for more than a day.

Being the youngest of five kids, my siblings all moved out by the time I finished high school, and thus family vacations no longer happened. And now that  we are all scattered around the country (or at the moment the world) and there are more than 20 of us with nieces, nephews and significant others, we just don't do family vacations.

However, I recently had the pleasure of having some of my family come visit me here in France and then we went on a real family vacation! We rented a car and drove out to Normandy for a few days and then spent a couple of days in Paris.

We had a grand adventure together - my dad, my oldest brother and his significant other. In France, WiFi is not nearly as prevalent as it is in the US, so we were navigating without GPS or a good map; nevertheless, Linda did an awesome job of getting us where we wanted to go. Warren was our chauffeur for the trip and had nerves of steal while circling the roundabouts and navigating Paris traffic. I was the translator for the trip and Dad was just along for the ride!

First stop, Saint Malo, which was purely an accident. As we were trying to find our way to Cancale for fresh oysters we stumbled upon this stunning medieval city. My pictures don't really capture the impressive magnitude of this walled city - it was so compact and dense that it was difficult to get the necessary perspective.

 

After a few hours of exploring, we were back on the road headed to Cancale, and once we arrived we walked the length of the city until we eventually found THE oyster stand that the guide book recommended. Unfortunately, we found them just as the skies opened up and the rain came pouring down, but that didn't stop us from huddling under an awning and slurping up our fresh oysters! We enjoyed a delicious dinner at a little restaurant on the seashore and then we were back on the road to find a place to stay for the night.

 

The village of Cancale

 

Fresh oysters!

The oyster stand

 

The pier at Cancale

 

You see, we are all adventurous and free-spirited, and so we had chosen not to make hotel reservations so that we could be free to roam about and explore, and then to land wherever the wind blew us. That night, it was getting late and we were still driving around in the vast countryside looking for a place to stay. I think we were all beginning to regret our decision to not have a reservation when we happened upon a tiny village with a fabulous little hotel. The price was reasonable, the rooms were clean, the people were kind, and breakfast was superb!

 

The view from my room

Our first day of family vacation ended well and after a good night's sleep we were ready for our next adventure. 

 

 

 

Pursuing our dreams isn't always easy

Today I am tired. The sort of tired that is bone-deep, soul-weary, and simply exhausted. There's no real reason for this, and I feel guilty for even saying it because I'm here in France, "living my dream". However, the reality is, it's sometimes hard to pursue our dreams.




Some things require all of our given graces....patience, risk, balance, intention, spirit, love
Card by Curly Girl Design

Today I don't want to be brave or courageous or adventurous. I don't want to learn new things or be stretched or challenged. I long for the comfort of the familiar, the routine..... and yet I know that is the weariness talking, and while I feel disheartened at this moment, I know that this is exactly where I am supposed to be, because underlying the weariness is a deep sense of peace and joy. I know that I continue to grow into a more whole person, more authentic to who I was created to be. I am letting go a little more and letting life happen, rather than trying to tell life how to be and what to do. Parker Palmer has said "the life I am living is not the same as the life that wants to live in me..... running beneath the surface of the experience I call my life, there is a deeper and truer life waiting to be acknowledged."  At this moment my goal is to be still and listen for the truer life, to hear my soul and to live more fully; and in doing so, my hope is to then companion others on their journey of discovering a truer life.

On this adventure I hope that I am becoming a better communicator as I continue to learn not only a new language but a new culture; however, I miss the ease of communicating in my native language. I realize that I often took for granted the ability to express myself. I could effortlessly use words to relate with people. Now I am forced to find new ways of relating when I don't have the vocabulary to express myself, or to simply be still and listen and say nothing at all.

I am so very grateful for my new friends, those who have embraced me and welcomed me into their lives for this season, and we are now living in the present together creating history which will forever change who I am and how I engage the world; yet I miss the ease of friendship that comes only with time, the comfort of being with friends who have already lived through some history with me.

I have these two cards that beautifully capture this part of my journey. The one on the right I found at my favorite boutique near Denver just before I moved. It expresses a sentiment that inspires me and reminds me that this journey I am on is not just about me, but it involves a lot of other people that I get the privilege of meeting and being a part of their journey. The one on the left I found at a street market in Paris, and it creatively depicts my spirit of adventure. It is also a visual representation of the statement on the other card, "We each have a light, our adventure is finding which paths to brighten."




We each have a light, our adventure is finding which paths to brighten
Cards by Curly Girl Designs and Gaelle Boissonnard 

And so I sit here in my weariness and I am humbled and thankful for this life I get to live. I am grateful for you, my family and friends - both new and old, who are on this journey with me. I couldn't do it alone and I am beholden to you, encouraged by your presence in my life.

Holland in the Spring is Spectacular

I recently found myself with a couple of free days and decided it was time for another little adventure. I was torn between exploring somewhere new or returning to Holland to visit a dear friend and see the famous tulips - I chose Holland, and am very glad that I did. It was a sunny weekend full of delicious food, good conversations, and beautiful things.

We went to this quaint fishing village on the harbor where they still have beautiful, old wooden fishing boats. There was an open-air market, and it was here that I got to have my first hot and fresh stroopwafle, which was delicious! I picked up some fresh red currants as we strolled through the market, and that afternoon made a pear-currant pie.

 

 

The next day we arrived at the Kuekenhof Gardens bright and early. The flowers were far above and beyond anything I had imagined. Having lived in the Skagit Valley for many years, I have seen my fair share of tulip fields, but these display gardens were truly amazing. They were filled with every color and shape imaginable and the theme of the gardens this year is Van Gogh. We saw so much beauty in the three hours we walked through the gardens, and yet there was still much more to see. However, the crowds were growing thicker by the minute, so we headed off to the seashore for the afternoon.

 

They say that we are either a mountain person or an ocean person - I'm not sure why we have to choose one or the other, but I have long contended that I am a mountain person, and yet, there is something about being in the presence of the ocean that is empowering and freeing. I think that the mountains will always be "home" for me, but the ocean lures me into a state of relaxation that offers true rest, and my soul opens up to new possibilities. And thus, my first visit to the North Sea was a very pleasant surprise. A bonus to an already delightful day.

This trip helped me reconcile with a part of who I am... for as long as I can remember I have preferred my world to be neat and orderly (you can ask my family about this). In general, I think this is a good character trait; however, over the years this has been ridiculed by some and exploited by others. As a reaction to this, I have tried to hide and deny this character trait, only to have it become distorted into some unhealthy control issues when I am struggling to find order in the midst of chaos. However, little-by-little I have been rediscovering the beauty and strength of this character trait. This was affirmed for me when I was wondering why I like Holland so much, and I realized that the country is neat and orderly, clean and tidy. This place was reflecting back to me part of who I am. This year abroad I am learning that I can survive amidst chaos and live in the midst of messiness, but I thrive in the presence of orderliness and natural beauty.

Love at First Sight!

As I was preparing to move to France, I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. I looked at the map and read a few websites, but everything was such a whirlwind, I didn't have much time for research. I tried not to have too many expectations, but one of the images I had was of me riding a bike around a little French village, and that image was something like this picture that a friend sent me several years ago. She took this in Sequim, WA, but it always made me think of the lavender fields in the south of France.



Check out As Eye See It for more of her photos

Spring has finally started to arrive here and I've been getting the itch to be on a bike. A colleague recommended the website "Leboncoin" - the French Craigslist, and so I started looking for bikes. Now mind you, I've never actually bought or sold anything on Craigslist because I've always thought it was too much of a hassle, too uncertain, and honestly... I was a little intimidated by the whole process. However, now that I'm living in a foreign country, somehow I have become bold and brave in a whole new way.

I found a bike that I liked and it was in my price range, and so I decided I'd contact the seller. I chose to send an email, because talking on the phone in French is just hard. Several days went by and I didn't hear anything, so I assumed either my email didn't make sense or they had already sold the bike. However, much to my surprise, I received an email asking me to call to make arrangements for me to see the bike. Eeekk! Now I had to actually talk on the phone. While learning French, I have relied heavily on body language, situational cues and my general intuition to help decipher what's being said. When you're talking on the phone, you don't get any of this, it's all in the language. So before I could chicken out, I called and talked with the woman who had advertised the bike. It went fairly well and we made arrangements for me to see the bike the next day at her mother's house. I was so excited at the prospect of getting a bike, I looked up all of the vocabulary for the various bike parts and then set off for the rendezvous. I was greeted by this delightful French woman who invited me in for tea, showed me pictures of her daughters and told me stories about her grandkids. Eventually we made it to the garage and..... it was love at first sight!

 

It was exactly what I had hoped for; however, as I took it for a test ride, I discovered that the back tire was flat. She was so apologetic, she insisted that I leave the bike there and she would get the tire fixed. I returned the next day and not only had she fixed the tire, but she reduced the price AND gave me a lock! I rode home with a huge grin on my face and wings on my soul.

 

Not only did I get a great bike, but I had this empowering experience of completing the entire transaction in French, all by myself - emails, phone calls, texts, and the in-person negotiations, along with afternoon tea and an invite to return for dinner!

 

I'm thinking a basket for my baguettes and picnic supplies will make this the perfect bike for the rest of my time in France.